Another day, another seizure of exotic animals smuggled surreptitiously into Malaysia. This time alert customs officials seized 330 tortoises flown into Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which has been serving as a favored destination for international smuggling syndicates. Acting on a tip-off, Malaysian officials discovered 325 Indian radiated tortoises and five ploughshare tortoises packed into…
If you are an animal and have a day to your name, you should be worried. Very worried. And so it is with pangolins. Those placid and quirky mammals have had the third Saturday in February designated as World Pangolin Day for the sixth straight year. The day serves to raise…
The world’s “most trafficked” mammal continues to be trafficked relentlessly … within Malaysia, out of Malaysia and into Malaysia. No wild pangolin anywhere is safe, it seems, from the clutches of poachers and traffickers. In the latest incident, a haul of more than 670 kilograms of African pangolin was intercepted in Cameroon…
In a move hailed by conservationists as a major milestone, CITES has imposed a total worldwide ban on the sale of pangolins. Does that mean pangolins, including Malaysia’s own Sunda pangolins, are saved? That depends. A ban will only work if it is enforced vigorously in countries like Malaysia. And…
Covered in scales, feasting on ants, and hanging from trees like a living pine cone, the Pangolin is without a doubt one of the world’s most unique mammals. Ranging from 12 to 39 inches in length, these housecat-sized creatures are actually the only known mammal in the world to have…